By all means, yes. Being specific often helps your scene feel more grounded, or funnier.
But keep in mind there’s a difference between mentioning the name of a real thing, which is generally fair game —
REGGIE
That dude’s a top hat and monocle away from being the tycoon in Monopoly.
— and the thing itself. If you show characters playing Monopoly, you’d probably need to get the rights. If your movie featured a shoe and a car racing to get to Boardwalk, you’d be getting a nasty call from Hasbro.
In general, it’s a bad idea to hinge anything integral on copyrighted material someone else owns. If your entire plot stems from a character hearing All-4-One’s “I Swear” and reacting to specific details in its lyrics, that could be a problem. What if you can’t get the rights?
So the short answer is yes — as a writer, write whatever is most interesting. “Denny’s” is generally a better scene heading than “nondescript 24-hour chain family restaurant/diner.” Just understand that the scene you wrote in Denny’s may wind up taking place in IHOP, or a fictional Donnie’s.
* [Four Seasons, Five Season or just some fancy hotel](http://johnaugust.com/2004/four-seasons-five-season-or-just-some-fancy-hotel “Four Seasons, Five Season or just some fancy hotel”)
* [Because really, he should drive a Chrysler LeBaron](http://johnaugust.com/2006/because-really-he-should-drive-a-chrysler-lebaron “Because really, he should drive a Chrysler LeBaron”)
* [Getting permission](http://johnaugust.com/2004/getting-permission “Getting permission”)
* [A character sings a song](http://johnaugust.com/2003/a-character-sings-a-song “A character sings a song”)
* [Do writers have a say in the music?](http://johnaugust.com/2003/do-writers-have-a-say-in-the-music “Do writers have a say in the music?”)